Kyle Busch On Busch Pole

New asphalt at Richmond International Raceway paved the way for a slew of records Thursday in qualifying for tonight's Funai 250. Fourteen drivers broke the track record for a Busch Series race on RIR's three-quarter-mile oval.

Kyle Busch, younger brother of Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch, was fastest of all. Busch, 18, qualified in 129.348 mph in a Chevrolet. That's more than 2 mph faster than the previous record of 126.868, set by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in September 2002.

Jamie McMurray, who qualified second, was the only other driver to break 129 mph at 129.211. Bobby Hamilton Jr., at 128.891, was also more than 2 mph faster than Earnhardt's record. Casey Atwood and Jason Leffler rounded out the top five.

The pole is Busch's third of the season, tying him for the series lead with Martin Truex Jr.

"For some reason Kurt and I have always been pretty decent on cold tires, and when you go out to qualify you don't have much heat in them," Busch said. "It's a lot of fun to go out there on cold tires and try to slip around right on the edge."

Busch, who trails Truex by 16 points in the series standings, is still without a victory. He believes that can change tonight.

"It's just around the corner, and we all know that," he said. "Lance (McGrew, his crew chief) and I have discussed it."

Busch noted that it took Brian Vickers until August of last year to win a race. Like Busch, Vickers, who won the 2003 series title, drives for Rick Hendrick.

"We've been a lot closer and a lot faster," he said. "It's just a matter of time."

2005 SCHEDULE

NASCAR will announce next year's Nextel Cup schedule during a news conference at RIR this morning.

Published reports have said Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway each will gain a race in 2005, Darlington Raceway will lose its fall date and North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham will lose its only date. Texas and Phoenix are hosting one race apiece in 2004.

Texas will reportedly take Darlington's place among the final 10 races in the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship. Darlington's spring date will move to the Saturday before Mother's Day. Phoenix will replace Rockingham in the spring. Rockingham's final race was in February, but the Phoenix race will likely be held in March with the reshuffling of the schedule.

TMS officials have scheduled a "major announcement" for this morning regarding the Cup schedule. International Speedway Corporation, which owns Darlington and Phoenix, also has scheduled a press conference for this morning.

ON A ROLL

If you're looking for a favorite for tonight's Funai 250, you can't do better than Martin Truex Jr. Truex qualified 17th, just the third time in 10 races that he has qualified out of the top five. But with a series-high three victories -- in the last six races -- no one is hotter than the 23-year-old from Mayetta, N.J.

Truex -- who earned victories at Bristol, Talladega and Gateway -- is winning despite the attention inherent in driving a car co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, wife of the late Dale Earnhardt.

"I really don't feel any pressure," Truex said. "Dale pretty much lets us do our thing and doesn't put a lot of pressure on us. That's the coolest part of this deal. Dale's really happy with the success we're having."

HE'S COPING

Derrike Cope was knocked unconscious and airlifted to a hospital in St. Louis when he crashed and hit the wall in practice for the Busch Series race in Madison, Ill., last Saturday. After receiving medical clearance Wednesday to race this weekend, he was back behind the steering wheel for Busch practice and qualifying at RIR on Thursday looking none the worse for wear.

He ran 42nd in practice, but was better in qualifying, earning the 32nd spot for tonight's Funai 250. That's the second-best starting position this season for Cope, who drives for the low-budget Jay Robinson team.

"We're back this week with no ill effects," said Cope, who won the 1990 Daytona 500. "We're solidly in this field with this Ford, and I'm looking forward to racing. The car got a little loose or we'd have qualified better. I think this car is going to race good because it's really turning well."